Our Newsletter

Spray-on Bed Liners Review: ArmorThane vs. Line-X vs. Rhino Liner

If you have just purchased a new truck, there’s a good chance that someone has told you to buy a particular brand of spray-in bed liner “because they’re the best”. If you’re like me, you don’t like making this decision without doing a little research first. Here is my analysis and study of the three most prominent names in spray-in truck bed liners ArmorThane, Line-X and Rhino Linings.

Some key things To Know About ArmorThane, Rhino Liner and Line-X...Similar to the way your diet is key to losing weight, installation is 75% if the puzzle to determining how good of a bed liner you will get. Go with a good installer, and you will probably end up with a liner that will last.

All liners eventually fade when exposed to years of sunlight. While some poly formulations are much more unyielding to fade than others, UV radiation always prevails.Unless you pay extra for UV protector, it will fade much faster than the factory paint and your liner and your truck more than likely will not color-match after a few years. Although if you stick with black, it will only fade to dark charcoal.Many of the chemical mixes used by ArmorThane, Rhino Liner and Line-X are very similar. All three companies now offer lifetime warranties on their products, but not all third parties are offering them so be sure to check.Expect your installation to cost somewhere between $450 and $900 dollars. Prices can vary drastically due to many factors such as geography, competition level and wether you are getting it as an add-on service or not.Inspect your installers spray and prep space. If it’s dusty, dirty or messy, find someone else. When someone is going to be spray-painting your vehicle with a permanent compound, they better have a tidy shop and a clean spray section that is not shared with any other services such as car detailing or washing area. Otherwise, you will get foreign particles and debris mixed in your liner.

Now, on to the comparison.

ArmorThane LinersArmorThane is applied “hot” (temperatures between 130-210 degrees) using a high-pressure spray machine. As a general rule, Line-X liners tend to be about 1/4″ thick. This thickness helps to protect your truck and your load by resisting tearing scratching and wearing. ArmorThane's thick coated trademarked poly compounds make for a slip resistant, scratch resistant and wear resistant bed liner. Overall it is a far more superior compound than any other on the market.

Line-X offers a much more thinner bed lining which it claims gives you more of the contour from your original truck bedding. I have a hard time buying this and assume it has more to do with saving spray. Many people hate the rough Line-x surface as well because it is a hard mix. It can be very hard on the knees while moving around in the bed and it can damage your cargo. While you can request that they reduce the hardness of the finish, this will also give you a surface that’s less glossy. A harder material does have some strengths (resistance to tearing for instance), and many Line-X sellers assert that their material holds up better than the softer product that Rhino offers.

The thing is, many newer Rhino liners (Solar Max, Extreme, Hard Line) use virtually the same administration process and product that Line-X uses…so you have to be cautious about buying into blanket assertions. Suffice to say, Rhino Liner has unquestionably tweaked their products in the last few years in an attempt to better compete with Line-X, however, neither one of them will be in the same playing field as ArmorThane for the foreseeable future...